Passports and grief


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Daily Tip:

Passports and grief
06.18.04 (4:39 am)   [edit]
Well... the passport story is completed this morning as I pick up my new one from the UK Passport Office.
It's been a struggle and I've had stress - not to mention a 'phone bill - that I don't need, but now I can rest assured that I can go on my own honeymoon, one week on Sunday. It's another unwanted lesson to me in how well I deal with stress and "officialdom", but it's also a lesson in how that officialdom deals with the public, and how hard I'd find their job. On both my visits to the Passport Office my attention was distracted by people on either side of me who were being knocked back simply because they hadn't read the forms properly and who were becoming vilely abusive to the staff. The punter is stressed because he needs his passport: this I understand because I had that stress. I had all (and more) of the documentation required, and 2 previous UK passports to back me up: I could show that I had taken it seriously, and still it was not easy. One person next to me yesterday had had her application signed by a croupier(!) and had not had her photo signed off by anyone at all and had filled in her form in blue ink, but still claimed it was the Civil Servant's fault that she couldn't get her passport that day. The desk staff keep coming back for more, 'cos it's their job. I don't know if I could.
 

posted by: Arcan (reply)
post date: 06.18.04 (5:21 am)

you wanna know about passport stress? you probably have been doing the passport dance for about a few weeks at least to get it. i needed one overnight because my father was dying in another country. i had to drive 9 hours to the passport office in new york, sit in a hot room with a 200 other sweaty people for 8 hours and then pay $400 for my passport. then i had to take a $60 cabride to the airport where they wouldnt take my passport because it wasnt in their computer yet. had to wait 2 more hours to be verified and missed the flight completley. had to wait another 3 hours for the next one. bah humbug!

Seriously though, have a great time on your honeymoon.


posted by: Boggins (reply)
post date: 06.18.04 (5:38 am)

Reply to: Arcan
Can't compete with that. At all! My only gripe was that as it was a simple renewal I wasn't expecting any strife at all. Thanks for the wishes; sorry about your father.

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